Context

From its earliest days, the Moravian Church has been characterized by missionary zeal. Moravian missionaries have travelled to the remotest corners of the earth to spread God's Word and be charitable to the poor and needy. MCF, the Moravian Church Foundation, is the organization that provides  necessary financial funding to ensure charity to continue. This is achieved by participating in and supporting companies in numerous countries.

In the course of its existence, MCF has acquired a large number of companies in which it actively participates. These companies are not the inevitable result of a previous missionary mission. However, they definitely have a specific aim: 'conscientious entrepreneurship' with part of the profits being invested in projects initiated by the Moravians. Numerous goals are realized with MCF funding: theological training of ministers and other church officials, translation of books, building of schools, support for medical work etc.

Since 2004, all companies are transferred to the fully owned MCF-BE enterprise, that owns and governs MCF's assets.

Actual

Nowadays, it's easily to say that Church and business is a combination that might cause astonishment. But we at MCF are grateful that we have succeeded in accomplishing a harmonious unity between the two. Experience teaches us that this serves both religious and social purposes. The means available owing to trading results are placed at the disposal of the church and serve to finance, among other things, projects in developing countries. And this flawlessly brings us back to the old ideals and convictions of the first Brothers who embraced missionary work.

History

Count Zinzendorf

An epoch of persecution, oppression and disharmony followed; in the early history of the Unitas Fratrum (officially established in 1457) , there was general turmoil. From Bohemia the brothers left for the neighboring country of Moravia. Under the leadership of John Comenius, the educational reformer, many of the Moravians left for the Netherlands in the 17th century. Another group found a place of refuge at the estate of a nobleman who was in favor of the Unitas Fratrum, Count Nicolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf. Here, where the three countries Poland, Czechia and the eastern part of the German republic meet, they founded the first village of their own called Herrnhut, which means: 'guarded by the Lord'. As a 19-year-old lad, Count Zinzendorf, born at Dresden in 1700, visited an exhibition and fell under the spell of the painting 'Ecce Homo' by the Italian Master Domenco Feti. The painting of which a replica is kept in the Unity Archives at Herrnhut shows a moving image with a crown of thorns. The German caption says: 'I have done this for you, what have you done for me?' The sight of this painting was to change Zinzendorf’s life radically.

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